1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the medical and surgical field, and more particularly, to a multiple oral and nasal surgical procedures and kit. The method allows the surgeon to perform the multiple oral and/or nasal surgeries during a single operative session. The kit or kits contain(s) the various instruments, medications, and other equipment required for a specific procedure or set of procedures.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgery is a very important specialty in the medical field. The surgeons and medical professionals specializing in this field are highly trained and skilled in order to handle the multiple disciplines required. While an ENT surgeon may be called upon to perform only a single operation on any one of the above organs, his or her specialty is often needed to perform multiple operations on two or more of the ear, nose, and throat organs. An excellent example of a situation in which multiple ENT operations may be required is for a patient suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), where it may be necessary to perform one or more operations to improve the upper airway airflow through the mouth, throat, and nose of the patient.
In the past it was necessary for the ENT surgeon to perform a single operative procedure upon one of the subject organs (e.g., the nose) and allow time for patient healing before performing a second operation upon another organ (e.g., the mouth and/or throat). This was due to the need to place hemostatic packs of absorbent cotton or other suitable material upon the sutured or cauterized incision after the operation to stop any flow of blood that might occur. The packs would remain in place for perhaps one to two days. Obviously, a surgical procedure performed in the nose with hemostatic packs remaining in place for an extended period would require the patient to breathe through his or her mouth until the packs were removed. If an additional surgical procedure were performed on or in the mouth or throat (e.g., tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy), the irritation to the throat due to breathing through the mouth would be exceedingly uncomfortable for the patient, and might even be impossible, depending upon the throat restriction due to post-operative edema and the installed hemostatic packs.
Accordingly, it has been standard procedure to perform a single operation in one operative session, and then wait for the patient to recover before performing a subsequent operation. Clearly, this results in additional trauma to the patient and considerable additional cost, as many such procedures are sufficiently involved as to require hospitalization, at least on an outpatient basis, if not overnight. Such multiple operations also result in lower efficiencies for the hospital as well, as the hospital must arrange for and release the same patient for each surgical procedure performed. The surgeon must arrange for an operating room and staff for each surgery, as well. All in all, this has not been a cost-effective system.
Modern medicine has resulted in a number of improvements in operative and post-operative care for patients in terms of equipment, procedures, and treatments. An example of such is found in relatively recently developed hemostatic materials or treatments that may be applied to an incision to stop bleeding, rather than the older cotton or gauze packs commonly used. Examples of such treatments are the Surgicel® hemostatic sheet material and Surgiflo® hemostatic fluid (Surgicel and Surgiflo are both registered trademarks of Johnson & Johnson Corporation, of New Brunswick, N.J.), both produced by the Ethicon Company (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson). Other similar products are produced by other companies, as well. These treatments serve to replace the older hemostatic packs and the like, and may include analgesic and antibiotic properties as well. Many of these products are absorbed into the body after some period of time, thus precluding any requirement for removal, as would be required with stitches.
Of course, any surgical procedure requires some specific set of instruments, medications, and/or other accessories and articles. Many such surgical instruments are configured specifically to perform a specific function during a specific procedure, e.g., the insertion tool developed by the Medtronic Company used with the Pillar® palatal implant system. To this point, the surgeon has gathered the various instruments and equipment required (either reusable or disposable) for a specific procedure, prior to each operation. This clearly requires additional time in preparation, even when only a single operation or procedure is performed.
Another consideration even before the preparation for a given operation or procedure, is the determination of the specific operation or procedure to be performed. For example, in the field of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), there may be one or more of a number of different conditions involved. These conditions may range from enlarged tonsils, adenoid and/or uvula hypertrophy, a flaccid soft palate, and/or various other conditions involving the nasal turbinate structure, lingual structure, and/or pharyngeal structure. Of course, it would be extremely rare for a single subject or patient to have all of these various conditions contributing to OSA, but it is quite common for a person to have more than one such condition. In any event, it is critical that the doctor examine the patient thoroughly in order to determine specifically what problem(s) exist(s), to determine the appropriate procedure(s) that must be performed in order to correct the problem(s).
Thus, a multiple oral and nasal surgical procedures method and kit solving the aforementioned problems is desired.